distinguished journalism, a duPont-Columbia Award, and several death threats. Hansen became nationally and even internationally famous in recent years when his commentaries on matters such as racism and domestic violence were circulated widely on YouTube. A 2015 profile of Hansen at the now-defunct Grantland website noted that many viewers assumed Hansen was a former conservative, when in fact he has been politically liberal his entire adult life and his views have often clashed with the mostly-conservative Dallas fan base of the Cowboys and Mavericks. On May 18, 2021, Hansen announced his retirement, effective September 2, 2021. Thank God for Kids Since 1983, Hansen has had a segment during "Sports Special" on the Sunday of the week before Christmas. He always shares a story of a child's death in the past year and talks about it before playing a video of clips from the 1980s of kids in Dallas. At the end is young Hansen with his own children. The video is played to "Thank God for Kids" by The Oak Ridge Boys. Hansen used the segment in 2011 to admit he was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, in hopes that it would convince others to come forward. Scholar-Athlete of the Week Each week since 1988, Hansen introduces his scholar-athlete of the week, a high school senior or recent high school graduate who excels in sports as well as in the classroom. McDonald's then donates $250 (formerly $100) to the school in honor of the student. Gay players in the NFL In a February 2014 broadcast, Hansen delivered a commentary supporting NFL draft candidate Michael Sam coming out as a gay man. He contrasted Sam's homosexuality making players "uncomfortable", with criminal activity by other NFL players which is routinely condoned, and likened contemporary discomfort with gay players to white athletes' and fans' past discomfort with black players. He concluded saying, "I'm not always comfortable when a man tells me he is gay; I don't understand his world. But I do understand that he is part of mine." In Hansen's commentary he described as what he saw a double standard within the NFL, stating, "You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You're the fourth guy taken in the draft," he said. "Caught with drugs? Kill someone driving drunk? Rape a woman? People are O.K. with that. You